CIC will be hosting its first IWOM Classroom this coming Tuesday, June 3rd at 6pm at Shanghai International Studies University. In the past we have held events such as the CIC IWOM Panel and CIC IWOM Summit, which brought together senior managers and executives from different brands and agencies, to discuss and educate others on IWOM and its impact on marketing communications. The purpose of the CIC IWOM Classroom is to educate students on the power of IWOM and how they can leverage their understanding and experience with IWOM to work with brands and agencies in the future. As IWOM is a new and growing industry, we feel it is important to build a healthy industry, and therefore have made educating both professionals and students alike a high priority. This event is the first in a series of CIC IWOM Classroom events CIC will be hosting at Universities across Shanghai.

Stay tuned for event follow up and key take aways next week.

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May 12, 2008, 14:28 will be a time and date remembered by those in China forever. The memory of the catastrophic earthquake in Sichuan province that happened that day is tattooed onto our brains just like 9/11/01 is for Americans. May 12 is when time stopped; when the country stood still. It is when, for one of the most memorable times in recent history, Chinese united together around one event in a massive show of solidarity that demonstrates the strength of this powerful nation.

For anyone who knows China, the fact that the Internet and Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) served as a central platform for the nation to share the latest information, to help out and to grieve should come as no surprise. At last count, China has 210 million Internet users and likely now has more users than any other country in the world. Chinese netizens are also among the most engaged in the world, with some reports suggesting that 98% have created content for BBS, blogs and other forms of IWOM. The netizens were out in full force during the week following the event: major portals hosted over 23 million netizen comments and blogs with over 12.6 million comments.

We have put together a special IWOM watch report on the power of the Internet, IWOM and netizens. Perhaps more than 9/11, more than Katrina, the Sichuan earthquake is the prime example of how engaged netizens can play such a significant role in sharing and even shaping the news. From the Wenchuan native posting landing instructions for a military relief helicopter on BBS to Netease setting up an interactive map to make it easier to find messages written by victims and relatives, there is much to be learned from these innovative uses of Internet and Web 2.0 technology. The rest of the world should look to the Chinese response on the Internet as a model and as a source of inspiration on how to react in similar times of crisis.

To download the report, please go here.

Recommended Reading

Below please find some recommended articles and blog posts in English for further reading on the power of the Internet and IWOM around the earthquake:

-How the Chinese Internet Becomes a Platform for Earthquake Grief (A local perspective)
-Earthquake Relief Efforts on China’s Web
-China: Time to pray

One of the most interesting aspects of studying a culture is how self expression, which sometimes becomes art, can turn into cultural icons. One image that comes to mind for me is the “smiley” face “have a good day” t-shirts in the US from the 1970’s. In this issue, we see that such icons are being created within Chinese Internet culture. The character 囧 (jiong) has recently gained iconographic status and it’s meaning has been appropriated to represent being “sad and frustrated” due to its resemblance of a human face. There is a now full fledge “jiong culture” with dedicated blogs, BBS and video and it is even appearing on bags and other accessories.

Unlike the smiley face in the west, the Jiong character is an icon that was elevated organically, without a massive campaign or distribution deals. It is an icon created 'by the people, for the people" and ultimately "marketed" "by the people" through IWOM.

Case Study

“囧 (Jiong)”, one of the oldest Chinese characters, now leads a new wave of net culture

Summary

An old Chinese character, “囧” (“jiong”), has attracted a large amount of buzz within the Internet community, and is now considered one of the most popular characters in Internet culture. Moreover, it created unique net culture named “Jiong”, as an expansion of “Orz” culture. “Orz” is a symbol used by netizens to show respect to an expert or well regarded professional.
The original meaning of this hieroglyph classical Chinese character was “bright”, however, the new “net language” definition for the term is “sad, frustrated” , because it resembles this expression on a human face. The character’s design ignited netizens’ passion and inspired them to use the character creatively in different social applications. For example, people created Jiong expression icons (see below), bloggers use it in their blog names (see Jiong Pig) and some netizens even built an official website for Jiong. (check out 囧 WS).

CIC View

Jiong not only stands for an expression of personal status on BBS and IM chatrooms, but also represents a particular style and attitude towards life. While the term was originally only popular on the Internet, it is now gradually beginning to penetrate offline life as well. For example, it is now being used on products, such as handbags, and even as a symbol for branding.

Brands should pay close attention to new elements within net culture to help them understand today’s youth, as the younger generation is a key group of target consumers. Brands can then use this knowledge to design and implement campaigns which leverage the culture to create successful branded campaigns and communication messages.

Screen shot of the index for the full IWOM watch report:

Other CIC IWOM Watch related posts that may be of interest:

-A New Kind of Net Star
-CIC Watch Half-Year Review released (download the full report)
-CIC watch: "You" - Time's Person of the Year - also lives in China (download the full report)

Today, Monday, May 19, begins a three day period of mourning in China for the Sichuan earthquake victims. There is so much sadness in the air about this terrible tragedy. At the same time, we are witnessing the unprecedented use in China of the Internet and IWOM to share information, share grief and come together.

Daisy, our team member who is studying in the UK, shares her thoughts on this phenomena and I think expresses it so clearly and compellingly. “Thoughtful China,” she says, is coming together. This terrible tragedy, with the help of the Internet, will make the country even stronger.

Below is a translation of the post. You can find the original here.

If asked to give an example of the power and strength of IWOM in China, I would say, without a doubt, the recent support on the Internet for Sichuan Wenchuan’s devastating 5.12 earthquake is the most powerful illustration of “Thoughtful China.”

Although I am currently studying in London, England which is far from my homeland, I, along with my fellow Chinese scholars abroad, still feel that we are equally impacted and breathing the same air along side our domestic compatriots. Through Internet searches and local news sources, we can learn and transmit updated information about donation channels and the progress of rescue efforts; through BBS forums, we are brought to tears by the emergency disaster relief pictures shared by those witnessing the event. Through blogs and comment sections, we are able to exchange ideas and express our concern and support for the motherland; through the MSN groups we exchange the latest news and organize collective gatherings to give support to our fellow Chinese citizens, and are able to inform everyone that on May 19th we will hold a day of silence in honor of the victims. On Facebook, there is a group inviting others to join the British scholar's candlelight ceremony, initiated by the collaborated efforts of 15 websites, in which we can offer fresh flowers and write down our mournful thoughts. Our ability to communicate through the Internet has enabled all Chinese nationals, regardless of which country they reside in, to unite together in support of the earthquake victims. And I feel proud that I can experience this powerful strength and shock firsthand.

“What China needs is the understanding, not sympathy. What the Chinese need is support, not comfort” Through IWOM, Chinese from around the world have heard the strong voice of the motherland, and continue to spread this spirit throughout the whole world via the Internet, letting the whole world know and understand China’s care for one another!

On May 19, at exact moment of silence, all members of CIC will gather together to mourn the loss of our fellow citizens, to give them hope and courage. The disaster will pass, but China will forever be stronger!

The IWOM related to issues around France and the torch demonstrated the power of IWOM to impact opinion and action in China.

With the horrible tragedy of the earth quake in Sichuan earlier this week, we are now seeing some equally powerful demonstrations of the impact of IWOM, many of which are both impressive and moving.

There is not time to list them all, but here are a few highlights.

1. Building on the legacy of the "L China" campaign, an "L Sichuan" campaign has started on MSN

2. Netizens use Taobao as a platform to encourage support. Some netizens are posting products on Taobao and offering to donate all of the proceeds to victims of the earthquake.

(Link)

3. QQ uses multiple channels to encourage its 220 million active users to donate. QQ is encouraging users to donate through online banks, mobile phones, and regular post mail. Below is a screen shot of QQ's online donation platform. An estimated 12 million RMB has already been donated by netizens to the cause (See here for current updates).

(Link)

4. In addition to donating over $300,000, Alibaba has set up a number of different ways for netizens to support earthquake relief organizations. According to this recent press release, people can donate funds to the relief efforts through Alibaba's Alipay online payment service, which has more than 80 million members.

5. MSN has teamed up with Guangzhou Toyota to launch a campaign in support of the earthquake disaster victims. For each MSN user who adds a "rainbow" to his/her MSN name, MSN will donate 0.10RMB to the cause and Toyota will match this donation. The effort has already raised over 160,000RMB from over 800,000 unique users. (h/t Adam Schokora)

For those looking to donate, Shanghaiist is probably the best English language source for how to donate and help out as well as a great source for the latest English news on the tragedy.

On a personal note, I am so inspired by the CIC team who, led by James, quickly organized donations themselves to give to the Chinese Red Cross. CIC will match all employee donations.

I am happy to announce that we have released our latest white paper, Tuning into Sports IWOM, 2007 Q4. You can download it here. If you were ever itching to know what Chinese netizens talk about basketball and football (NOT the American kind) and what brands are doing in this space, this is the report for you.

I will share some more detailed thoughts later in the week, but for now, you can check out the English press release here and the Chinese press release here.

Previous white papers on health, mobile phones, auto and notebooks are available here.

In the last IWOM watch, we talked about how the launch of SNS sites based on particular cities rides the trend of BBS communities which already serve such a need. In this issue, we take a closer look at KDS (宽带山), a sub-forum of PChome, which is one such "local" BBS based in Shanghai. KDS is filled with Shanghai residents talking about the latest gossip, news and generally playing around. It even has its own “KDS” net language such as "5pp54"(Ignore the topic if no photo).

Recently, KDS had an FB 腐败 (offline meet up) which brought together KDS "net friends" at a local Shanghai park to hang out. Interestingly, brands such as Crocs and Haier "participated" in the event by sponsoring and giving away free gifts.

Below is a screen shot of photos and quotes from the recent offline event.

I recently wrote about how about how brands can actually connect to China's developed and complex community landscape. Brands sponsorship of FB events is a simple, but powerful way to connect to and support a passionate community. The takeaways of such sponsorship is of course exposure with banners and within pictures and videos shared among members online. More important, however, is the engagement that is recognizable within such content. The sponsorship fits into and contributes to the community which makes it part of the netizens’ memories in a positive and meaningful way.

Local community holds impressive mass offline meet-up, various brands sponsor the event

Case 1 "KDS" annual offline community party "宽带山" 年度线下聚会

Summary -KDS (宽带山), an online community under PChome, is now one of the hottest local Shanghai online communities. On April 5th, it held a successful offline meet-up which attracted hundreds of community members to join in the festivities. The community rented a space inside Lu Xun Park in which the members participated in various events such as a karaoke contests among many others. Moreover, multiple brands sponsored the event like Crocs, Haier and GIGABYTE.

Case 2 Unique online culture of popular local community 热门本土社区的特殊网络文化

Summary - KDS slang "懂得入", meaning "come in only if you 'really' understand," perfectly captures the key to joining specific online communities. The most important element when joining online communities, such as KDS, is to understand the unique culture of these different communities and its members.

For example, since the site is dominated by Shanghainese, there are actual rules within the community to protect their “tyranny” or power within the community. One obvious characteristic of KDS is the local net language like 刚度/moron, 奥扫/hurry up and 库爱/cute. Members also invented series of new slang words specific to the community (e.g. 5pp54/ignore if no photo), which new members may not understand. To join this community, you truly need to “懂得入”!

Here is a screen shot from a video of a KDS party/offline meet up

See video here

When it comes to community culture, popular local community culture differs greatly from national wide online community culture. For instance, another hot Shanghainese community “ShanghaiNing” is for people who love to party and show-off. (In KDS, members tend to track other people who show-off rather than show-off themselves.)

CIC View

For various campaigns and other initiatives, it is no longer sufficient for brands to just know about hot communities on a general level. The fast development and diversification of BBS communities’ now require that brands have an in-depth understanding of the community before making any attempts to participate in the community, since “amateur” or superficial engagement does not fit the “懂得入” spirit.

Screen shot of the index for the full IWOM watch report:

Other CIC IWOM Watch related posts that may be of interest:

-CIC Watch Half-Year Review released (download the full report)
-CIC watch: "You" - Time's Person of the Year - also lives in China (download the full report)